It’s midsummer eve and a public holiday here in Sweden. Midsummer is celebrated across Northern Europe and the Baltic countries, but I think Sweden is the only one that celebrates the eve of it, per typical Swedish custom of celebrating holidays the day before. The actual solstice isn’t until Sunday. After weeks of pretty cold temperatures and lots of rain last week, today arrived HOT and sunny, nearly 30C, which is too hot for me, given that there isn’t much of a breeze either. I slept in, while Anders went early to a fish store in Landskrona where he got the rest of the ingredients for the traditional smörgåsbord. I got all the housecleaning done and the porch and deck cleaned up and cushions set out before lunch, and have been lazing around reading and playing iPad games ever since. I’ve been out on the deck, but without a breeze, it’s quickly too hot for me.
Our guests are arriving at 5 pm, and we’ll be 7 people this year, as well as two dogs. Maria and Mikael’s ancient Pug Dante, and Mats and Annelott’s 3-year-old pup Azzla. I can’t remember what breed of dog Azzla is, but she’s a bouncy hunting dog. They are all bringing at least one of the food items, and we’ll have some time to hang out and chat before dinner is served. I’m picking up Camilla at the bus stop in Gårdstånga at 4.
The yard and garden look neat and beautiful. Anders mowed the lawn yesterday after he got home from Tingsryd, and then spent a couple of hours in the early evening thoroughly weeding all around the house, while I went to the grocery store. Our vegetable garden is exploding, though unfortunately the potatoes weren’t ready for today, since we planted so late. For some reason most of the snap peas didn’t come up either, so Anders is planting more seeds today, and we’ll hope for the best. The potato plants are bigger and leafier than I think any have ever been. The roses are almost blooming, the honeysuckle already are, and the pansies are huge clouds of flowers in their pots, though I suspect this weekend will see them wilting in the fierce heat, so I might go buy a bunch of pelargoniums tomorrow or Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, the kids are coming and we four are going to Landskrona to lunch at the same fish place that Anders went to this morning. Karin arranged a lunch there for Anders’ birthday present, and I’m looking forward to it, especially since Karin ordered just salmon for me, and no herring, which the rest of them are having. I’ll eat it if I have to, but it’s not my favorite. (and really, it’s only the sauces that the herring is put in that make them palatable for me).
A traditional midsummer’s eve smörgåsbord consists of a few kinds of herring including matjessill, cold and warm smoked salmons with their respective sauces (warm smoked gets a creamy caviar sauce, and cold smoked gets a mustardy dill sauce), hard-boiled eggs, summer sausage, liver paté (which also get its own sauce: cumberland, which is made of redcurrant jelly, mustard, pepper and salt, blanched orange peel, and port wine), breads and cheeses (we’ve got 2 plus 4), boiled new potatoes with sour cream and chives (which is also served with the matjessill), meatballs, “prinskorv” (a small links sausage served with mustard), and often a quiche of some sort, usually cheddar. For dessert: fresh Swedish strawberries with whipped cream, milk, or vanilla ice cream. And of course, snaps to toast with!
Traditionally, you take the cold food and fish first, with a potato or two, and then go back again for the warm meats and more potatoes. It’s very easy to overeat at one of these Swedish feasts! Maria is also bringing a salad of some sort, so we’ll have a little more veg than just chives, haha! She’s also bringing a quiche, and her quiches are always delicious. Annelott is bringing the matjessill, and Camilla is in charge of dessert.
I find it amusing that all of the items that I listed above are typically served at ANY Swedish holiday, including Easter Eve and Christmas Eve. It’s basically just the dessert that changes.
The only bummer part of midsummer is the fact that it marks the longest day of the year, the most sunshine, and the beginning of the long slow slide into darkness and winter. But! Since we’ve a gorgeous hot summery day today for celebrating, we won’t think too far ahead to that!
HAPPY MIDSUMMER to you, no matter where you are or how you’re marking the day!
Mood: ready to party
Music: Skyler Cocco—Hot Like Summer